Adjustable supporting device



ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT ING DEVICE Filed April 24, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

v Bernhard (o/"6y," BY

ATTORNEY.

' Aug. 7, 1934.

Filed April 24, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 o I 0 a7 64 =1;

INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 7, 1934 4 UNITED sTATEs' p 1,969,547 1 v ADJUSTABLE "sorroa'rmo DEVVICE' I Bernhar cor sgremnr nayy Application April 24. 1933, Serial No. 667,662.

' 2 Claims. (o1. 45-40). I

This invention is a supporting device of adjustable character and constitutes more particularly certain important improvements upon the subject matter of my prior patent, No. 1,590,726,

issued June 29,1926 Adjustable -supporting devices. The device of said prior patentis inthe main satisfactory for the carrying out of its intended purposes, but is open to certain objections which it is the object of the present invention to overcome and eliminate@ ing thereon- This vibration is particularly annoying if a person is reading a book resting upon the support. By the present invention all tendency to vibrate is entirely eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to facilitate the vertical adjustment of the supporting table with'reference to the standard by whichit is carried; For this purpose I'counterbalance the weight of the table with a spring to such extent as to render the said adjustment unusually easy.

' -A further feature of the present .invention has to do with the structure of the supporting .table which in accordance with thisinvention is made readily adjustable in various" directionswith ad-'- justable book holders and supports to maintain a bookor other article'in proper position-upon the Supporting table. Featuresof the invention; other than those adverted to, will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description and claims; when read in'conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawingsillustrate'different practical embodiments of theinvention; but the construction's'therein shown are to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as deiining the limits of the invention. 7 l I Figure 1 is. a perspective view showing one form of the present invention with certainrparts broken away orforeshortened in the interest of clearness and certainparts shown i'n'section. U

Figure; is anlunderne ath perspective view of thesupporting table detached from theappa- 'ratus. q 1 i Figure}; is an edge elevation of one of the adjustment devices shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 isa side elevation showing the .man-

er in whicha table is adjustably supported. Figure5 is a front elevationfof the parts shown in Figure 4. I g y Figure 6 is an elevation showing a modified form of construction.v

F ure? isa section onthe line '77 of Figure6.-

Y Referring first to Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, 1 and 2 designate-two; telescoping members collectively constitutingastandard. .The member 1 is tubular and is provided at its lower end with any suitable; and appropriate form of base 3 adapted to rest on the floor to :support the tubu-e lar section .1 in upstandingposition. The member 2 constitutes in effect the piston and is provided at its lower end with a pair of leather washers 4 adapted it to function as a piston with-in the tubular section: 1- which constitutes in .efiect a cylinder. The upper end of the section 1 is pro vided with acapfi constituting a bearing through which. the plunger 2 operates and said plunger is formed thereinwith a keyway 6 into which .ex-. tends projections '7 formed on a yoke 8. The yoke 8 has depending spring armsQ'having inwardly facing projections 10 adapted to cooperate with recesses .11 formed in the cap-5. The cap 5 is rigid with the section'l, while the yoke 8 is locked against rotation with respect to'the plunger 2 and consequently as, the plunger is' rotated; the projectionlO is adapted to be sprung. consecutively into oppositely disposed depressions 11 to lock the plunger in any desired -position o'f rotation. :The plunger maybe elevated by means of an air pump-12 of any suitable andappropriate de sign, this .pump'being connected by atube 13 to aninlet valve 1 t. A pressure relief'valve 15 is adapted; to beioperated by a wire 16provided-with a finger piece l'Ll-as shown in Figure 1.- Thus-toelevate the plunger, the pump is operated to introduce air into the cylindrical lower .portion of the section lthrough the normally spring closed-valve14. However, when it .is desired to lower the plungen the .wire 16 maybe ioperated to' open;thespring closed valve 15 to permit the exit ;0f the desired amount of air.

;Thus, the plunger may; be raised or lowered without the application of 7 any appreciable labor .or

20,. 21 and 22. Tie members 20 and 21 are spaced from .the clamp lfi and are secured'tothe bars by means of pins 23. Aplampzi embraces the circular apertures through which the bars 19' extend, so that the clutch members 26 may be slid longitudinally on said bars. Each clutch member 26 forms a part of a clutch of the dog type. That is to say, each member 26 is in the form of a disk, one face of which'is'provided' with radial serrations. With; each of said disks is associated a complementary disk 27, the adjacent face of which is similarly serrated} as shown in Figure 3. The disk 26 has an axially disposed threaded shank 28 which passes loosely through a central perforation in the disk 27, and a nut 29 threads on to said shank. The spring 30 is interposed between the nut andthe disk 27 and serves to force the complementary serrated faces together to preclude inadvertent relative rotation between the clutch members. However, the tension of the spring is such as to permit the parts to be manually rotated'in order to obtain the desired adjustment, but the parts will retain the positions which they,'occupy until manually adjusted as stated.

On the outer face of each disk 27 is a; boss 31 to which is affixeda depending rod 32. The two rods 32 which are associated with the two clutches, as stated, extend downwardly for a distance and are attached to a'guide block 33. This guide block is perforated to receive the supporting bar 34 which is mounted for vertical adjustment through the block 33 and may be'lockedin any desired position by means of a thumb nut 35. A spring 36 counterbalances the bar and the parts supported thereby in a manner to make this adjustment easily accomplished.

The lower end of the supporting bar 34 is bent forwardly, as shown in Figures '4 and 5, and is provided atits inner end'with a laterally ex-- tending clutch disk 37 rigid with 'said bar. This clutch disk 37 cooperates with a cooperating clutch disk 38. 'The clutch disk38 is integral with a second clutch disk 39 positionedat right angular relation thereto and adapted to cooperate with another clutch disk 40 "carried by and rigid with the table 41. The clutch'disks 37 and 38 cooperate with one an'otherin the samemaner as the clutch disks 26 and '27, and the same is true of the clutch'disks 39 and 40, the purpose being to provide for manual adjustment, but to preclude inadvertent movement. 7

i As stated. the clutch disk 40 is rigid with and carried by the table 41. This table is preferably made of sheet metal such as aluminumfdu- 'ralumin or the like, although it may'b'e in practice made of anysuitable material. l 3U? It is perforated as indicated at 42 in Figure 2 for attachment of the clutch disk '40 which for the sake of clearness has beenornitted from this,

figure. Said table 41-is preferably'made fiat or plane and at its forward edge is provided with an adjustable stop 43. The forward edge of which is upturned as at 44. To render it adjustable,

the stop is provided withtor'igue's 45 extending through keepers 46 on the table,- so that the stop may be adjusted to vary the front to back dimension of the'table; Tongues 47 may be secured-t0 the table or stamped up from the stock thereof 2 to support frames 48, which are longitudinally adjustable in the parts 47, and on these frames are mounted spring retainers 49 adapted to reach over the upper surface of the table and to engage with books, papers or other articles supported thereon. The spring retainers 49 are mounted on the frames 48 by means of a plurality of spring coils 50 wrapped about eachframe and imparting resiliency to the retainers. Said retainers may be of any appropriate shape, but are preferably such that the lower ends of the retainers bear against the under side of the table as at 51,

while the upper ends are arched over and provide transverse wires 52 on which I preferably mount rollers 53, so as to facilitate the engagement or disengagement of the retainers with the leaves of a book or with other papers. Inasmuch as the'frames are adjustable transversely of the table and the stop at the forward edge of the table is adjustable in a front to rear direction, it will be apparent that the table is thereby adapted to books'or articles'of widely'varying sizes.

I may, if desired, in addition tothe retainers employ an additional manually adjustable retainer in the form ofa finger 54 mounted for vertical adjustment in a block 55 supported on'an' arm 56 at the under side of the stop 43, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The finger may be adjusted as to height to engage with the book or other'article and may thereupon be secured in place by a thumb screw 57.

The structure of Figures 6 and 7 differs from the structure hereinbefore described merely in the type of standard employed. In thestructure of the previous figures, the adjustment of the stand-- to support a fixed section 58 provided thereon v,

with a plurality of brackets 59 carrying rollers 60. These brackets and rollers embrace the movable section 61, corresponding to the plunger-2 of Figure 1. On the upper end of this section 61 are mounted the parallel bars'as hereinbefore 1 described. Section 61 is provided for a portion of its length with a rack 62 which mesheswith a gear 63 carried by the section 58.

The structure is shown best in Figure 7. Here the gear 63 is shown as supported on a shaft 64 which is squared to receive said gear. The shaft is mounted in bearings 65 carried by thewall of the section 58, and on the outer end of said shaft.

is'secured a crank 66 having ahandle 67. The handle is secured to a spindle 68 providedat its end with a projection or key 69. Thespring'IO embracesthe spindle and normally forcesitin a direction of thewall of the section 58 which is provided with perforations 71.

. -When it is desired to raise or lower the section 61, the" handle 68 is grasped and pulled to release the key.69 froma perforation 71, and. the crank is then operated to raise .orlower' the section 61-through cooperation of the gear 63 with the rack 62. When the parts arein substantially the desired position, the key ispermitted to reengage with one of the perforations 71 to lock the parts in position p With both forms of the device, as hereinbeforedescribed, it is possible to raise orlower the supporting table within relatively widelimits.

ment, however, the supporting table may be raised or lowered through adjustment of the supporting bar 34 assisted by the counterbalancing spring 36 and after the table is in desired adjustment as to height, it may be locked in place by the thumb screw 35. The table may be moved toward or away from the person as he sits in the chair or reclines in bed by swinging the rods 32 on the clutches 27, while the inclination of the table may be adjusted through the clutch members 37 and 38. Similarly, the table may be twisted on a substantially vertical axis of the clutch members 39 and 40. In this way, the device is adjustable within wide limits and in practically all directions. Especial emphasis is laid upon the fact that two parallel bars 19 are provided to support in turn two parallel bars 32, in order that the table may be rigidly supported and twisting strains or resiliency in the connections eliminated.

With the device of the present invention, it is possible to support appreciable weights upon the table and where such weights are great or small, the table will be steady and free from vibration, so that books or magazines, for example, can be read in a thoroughly satisfactory manner.

The foregoing detailed description sets forth the invention in its preferred practical form, but the invention is to be understood as fully commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an assembly of the character described, a suitable standard, a pair of parallel bars carried by said standard and extending in parallel relation in a lateral direction, a pair of resilient clutches mounted on the respective bars for sliding movement thereon, a rod depending from each clutch, a guide block supported by said rods, a table, a supporting bar for said table, said supporting bar extending upwardly through the guide block and provided at its upper end with a head, a spring coiled about the supporting bar between the guide block and the head of the supporting bar to counterbalance the weight of the table, and means to lock the supporting bar in the desired adjusted relation with respect to the guide block.

2. In an assembly of the character described, a standard, a pair of parallel bars rigidly secured to said standard and to one another and extending in a lateral direction from the standard, a pair of resilient clutch members slidable on said bars, a pair of suspension rods depending from the respective clutch members and slidably and pivotally supported on said bars, a table, and means for suspending said table from said suspension rods, said means including a counterbalancing member to counterbalance the weight of the table and permit easy adjustment of the same with respect to said rods.

BERQNHARD CORSGREN. 

